transparent about what ingredients are used and
where those ingredients come from. “Knowing
your source of ingredients gives customers
confidence, and being produced by a family-owned
USA company assures quality products,” says
Dan Schmitz, national sales manager of Perham,
Minn.-based Tuffy’s Pet Foods. Tuffy’s has been
producing healthy pet food since 1964, making
sure the ingredients are produced ethically, and
in accordance with local laws and the company’s
high standards.

According to the Food and Drug Administration’s(FDA) website, “The Federal Food, Drugand Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that allanimal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat,produced under sanitary conditions, contain noharmful substances and be truthfully labeled. Inaddition, canned pet foods must be processedin conformance with the low acid canned foodregulations to ensure the pet food is free of viablemicroorganisms.”These regulations, along with others in place,are what make pet food made in the USA standapart from food made elsewhere. “The USDA andFDA regulations for farmers and manufacturersensures a higher quality end-product than onewould get from other countries,” says Horowitz.

Tillman notes that the regulations are even
stricter when you compare them to the standards
of not just food, but specifically pet food in other
countries. “USA-made products, especially in the
pet industry, are held to a much higher standard
and are more regulated than many products from
other countries,” he says.

WORTH THE MONEY

When it comes to products that are made in the
USA, one of the main reasons consumers may
avoid these products is the price. But spending a
little extra money for the peace of mind of knowing
where products are coming from seems worth it to
many people. “A recent Consumer Reports survey
found that 80 percent of Americans would prefer